The Four of Them
by ElReyCiervo
Summary: It was difficult, living day to day in the world they lived in and the job they had. But, it was easier since they had each other. Story written for DGM OT4 Week.
1. Lights in the Darkness

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray -Man

Words: 6,503

Summary: (Prompt for DGM OT4 Week 2015, Sept. 13: Light/Dark); When the world's darkness threatened to drag down one of them, the other three acted as lights to pull the person right back up.

Warning: language, war, and mentions of gore, blood, and death (which is kind of expected out of the DGM sereis).

(Note: As there is no definite timeline in the DGM manga-or series in general-I often think that the time period is 1860. This fic takes places four years after that, in 1864. The War is still going on.)

(Also, to all those who are still reading my _Special Bonds_ fic, it is still continuing! I already have several pages of the next chapter already written! Thank you all for your patience!)

* * *

Chapter: 1) Lights in the Darkness

Sometimes in their line of work, it was hard to look at the brighter side of things, what with all the dark and gruesome experiences that had happened. They couldn't keep the people in the science division and Komui from worrying, neither could they keep up a facade any longer around the other exorcists. Any questions were given with rehearsed answers or silence, depending on how the day was going. They couldn't give Jerry a good answer on why they weren't eating as much, Allen in particular.

For Allen, it was difficult to keep up his polite and friendly exterior the more and more this war raged on. _This supposed 'Holy War'_ he scoffed to himself. The word 'Noah' was often spat at him as a slur, not matter how much he protested he was not one. A smile was hard to keep pinned to his face in the presence of others filled with hatred. That was actually one of Allen's lesser problems.

Level Fours were becoming more and more common as the Earl was trying to change the tides. Allen tried his best to end battles with the Level Fours as quick as possible in order not to be around them any longer than was required. There were times, though, that battles between the two factions would last longer than he wished, causing the souls of the miserable to be practically burned into his memory. The mangled morass of struggling and agonized souls that were contained in the Level Fours were always too much for Allen, no matter how many times he saw them. The essences of women, children, and men looked melted together as they bubbled and writhed around, as if the Akuma was a pot and the souls were part of an acrid, churning soup. His eye not only granted him the power to see the souls, but also cursed him to hear their _voices_. The mix of children crying for parents, as they ruptured out the mouths of the adults...some adults screaming and clawing at themselves as another soul bubbled and emerged from their sides...the hysterical laughing of these new souls that couldn't process what had happened to them...All the meanwhile, _every soul_ wanting to reach and grab towards Allen, their only hope for salvation from their damned hell, _"Help us, Allen Walker"_... (1)

...Allen lurched awake, rolling out of bed and dashing towards the bathroom that was conjoined to the large room. Bile burned his throat and mouth as he heaved over the porcelain toilet, clutching to the rim with shaking, dual-colored hands. _Get it the hell together, Allen,_ he chided himself, _You're here with the others, not on the battlefield_.

During the nights, it was hard to distinguish the separation, though.

 _ **It's okay, nephew**_ **,** a melodic tenor rang through his head as he felt his hair being brushed out of his clammy face by an invisible. _**You're alright.**_

The twenty year-old exorcist sighed as he flushed the toilet and slumped to the side, leaning against the tiled wall. _Thank you, Uncle,_ he responded through a tired mind. _Go back to sleep._ A flare of irritation that was not his own clued him into Neah's displeasure. _Really, Neah, I'm fine. I'm just...tired is all. You need rest, too._

 _ **Allen, I've slept for decades. One night won't kill me. I am your uncle, and I do not leave my family in such a state of disarray.**_ The family he liked, Allen knew he meant. The other Noah were a different matter entirely. _**You may have the others, but do not forget that I am here for you as well.**_

"Allen?" he heard a female voice from behind him ask.

 _ **Speak of the Devil-or should I say Devils? I'll let you have you time with them, dear boy.**_

 _Thanks, Neah,_ he sent a pulse of gratitude toward the man residing in his head.

He lifted up his head and opened his eyes, seeing Lenalee standing in her pink nightgown at the door. Kanda and Lavi were right next to her, in their own pajamas. Kanda with only some loose black pants and Lavi with a simple sleeveless white shirt and light blue shorts. Allen didn't even try for a smile. "I'm sorry if I woke you guys up," he said as he winced, the acid had irritated his throat. They were just as tired as he was; he had no business ruining the sleep of others.

Kanda rolled his eyes as he walked into the bathroom, flipping the toilet lid down and sitting on it. "Baka Moyashi, you think we weren't gonna help you?"

Lenalee kneeled in front of him, dabbing a wash cloth she had grabbed on her way in against his still clammy face. He saw her take assessment of his weariness. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?"

"Don't lie, either," Lavi input as he sat next to Allen on the floor.

Allen didn't answer for several long moments, trying to find the right answer. "Do you ever just want to stop?" he asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Lavi blinked and Kanda raised an eyebrow. Lenalee had a small from on her face. "What do you mean?"

He sighed again, and _dear Lord_ did he feel tired in more ways than one. "Do you ever just want to stop?" he repeated himself, but then it just all came flooding out. "I feel fine and not fine at the same time. I feel tired, but have the need to do something as well-like, like my body and eye **require** me to go fight. I feel like I'm wading through a river of destruction from this fucking war. And, and sometimes I feel like nothing I do will ever help!" He gripped his hair in a tight-knuckled grip in his hands. "A lot of the other Order members are wary of me because they think I'm a Noah, and the Earl- _personally -_ wants me either dead or...or I don't know what. Sometimes I don't think I can keep bloody fighting the Akuma b-because their souls-oh my God, the souls-and a-a-and I-"

He was cut off from his rant when Lenalee and Lavi suddenly latched on to him in a tight embrace, and _wow, I feel lightheaded_. He didn't realize he was shaking. Kanda had gently taken Allen's head and rested it on his knee, fingers stroking through white hair. "Don't forget to breathe, Moyashi. We don't need you passing out."

"You don't always have to be strong, Al," Lavi murmured against the black skin of his Innocence arm. His lips pecked the dart-like ringed points that were tattooed to Allen's skin. "No one is strong one-hundred percent of the time."

Lenalee pressed a kiss to his forehead, right on his pentacle scar. "Lavi's right, Allen. We're here for you, always. We'll be there when you can't go on, when you can't keep walking anymore." They were aware of the promise he had made to his adoptive father, Mana. He had told them about it a long time ago.

Kanda leaned down and rested his forehead against the side of Allen's head. "The other people are fucking idiots. They obviously don't know the difference between and Noah and an exorcist. Blind." His raven hair was out of its ponytail, causing it to spill like ink over the three of them, surrounding them in the scent of jasmine.

"We're here." Lavi hugged him tighter.

Allen inhaled a shaky breath, grounding himself in the collective warmth of an additional three bodies, and the scents of Kanda's jasmine and green tea, Lenalee's lavender and coffee, and Lavi's parchment and smoke. They were the lights that guided him out the world's darkness. The darkness of the world too frequently felt like thick, pungent tar that weighed him down, heavy with blood, bones, and destruction. They were the lights that pulled him out of the muck, like strong angels, and gave him the strength to walk again.

He whispered an inaudible, "Thank you," as he couldn't prevent the tears from falling from his mercury eyes.

Komui found them like that, hours later, all sleeping huddled in a corner of the bathroom of Kanda's room.

He hadn't said anything, but instead let them sleep.

* * *

In all the years the Lavi had been a Bookman, he had been witness to the horrors of humanity. The wars that broke out from country to country, and the violence that raged at the borders. Blood was, unfortunately, a common sight for him, even to this day. Human wrath, greed, and rage often ended with bloodshed. Raping and pillaging was also another common occurrence that he recorded, and it only reminded him of the awful, disgusting nature of humans. Lives of the elderly or children were never spared, neither were the ill. In fact, they often became prime targets for unsavory individuals.

As he and the other three exorcists walked the wet and dirty roads of Venezuela, the twenty-three year-old Bookman looked ahead with emotionless eyes. Even though the Federal War in Venezuela had ended a year ago, the country was still ravaged and in disarray. (2) The road they were on was less of a road and more of a dirt path, leading to their destination. They had been walking in the heavy rain for over a half hour, and they were all drenched and dirty with mud. But, he preferred these conditions to some of the people of this country. An image of a homeless man and child, both in inadequate clothing-more like rags-for this kind of weather. Their skeletons could practically be seen through their thin skin as they reached weak, bony hands toward the exorcists.

Allen had given them the crackers in his travel pack, the only food he had other than an apple. He got discouraged when he did not have enough food to help the other forty-nine starving homeless people the grouped had passed on the road.

 _Bless him,_ the red-haired man thought.

Unfortunately, Lavi was too familiar with the sight of the suffering, homeless, and hungry.

Lenalee had shed a few tears as she took in the state of the country. Lavi felt bad for her, because no matter how many war-torn countries he knew she visited, this stuff always bothered her. Like Allen, she cared too much and too strongly.

That hadn't stop her from saving two women from being raped in an alleyway about ten minutes ago. No one said anything when she had broken the jaws and shins of the attackers with her kicks. Kanda had just held her shaking hand.

Kanda, Lavi surmised, was blessed by his indifference to most other people who weren't any of the three exorcists. The only people Kanda had bothered sparing a glance during this entire trip were two wounded twin boys, both with raven hair like his. One boy had straight hair cropped to his shoulders and had been holding the smaller boy with his one arm. The other arm had been a stump. The other boy, with thick eyebrows, shaggy hair that stuck up in the back, and deep scar the gouged his cheeks and bridged across his nose, hadn't seen them due to having his face buried in the other's chest. The second boy had stumps for legs, ending right under his pelvis. Both had other wounds that were open and festering, which had attracted flies. Kanda had frozen at the sight, but hurried to give the two boys some currency and food. The swipe of a short knife had been easy to dodge as he quickly moved away from them and practically sprinted in front of the other three exorcists.

Allen had taken one of the shaking fists that Kanda had crammed in his jacket pockets into his own gloved hand. He had whispered words, which Lavi hadn't been able to make out due to the down pour, to Kanda that seemed to somewhat help.

The samurai normally wasn't so bothered by things like that. Lavi and the other two would talk to Kanda on the way back home.

"Lavi?"

The man in mention looked at Allen, who still had Kanda's hand in his. "What is it, Allen?"

The youngest of the group frowned. "I feel like we should have been there by now. What did the map say?"

Edict memory allowed him to have the thing completely memorized. "We're actually just about five minutes away." He pointed to the corner of a stone building with the ceiling and upper corner blown off-most likely from canon fire. "The map said this was the former post office of the town here. Komui's intel said the kid lives a quarter mile left of the post office. He lives in a little ghetto that only has a few families inhabiting it." _Let's just hurry and leave._ Lavi didn't want to continue to trudge through the literally muddy and dirty repercussions of human conflict any longer than he needed to _._ A sensation almost like a rumble in the back of his mind warned him to keep himself in check. Deak was always lurking in the corners of his mind. That personality never _truly_ had disappeared as he should have like the others.

Lavi let Allen and Lenalee run ahead of him, as they were very eager to meet the new accommodator. They had gotten word about two weeks ago of a very young accommodator, about Timothy's age when he had first entered the Order, who lived in the remains of a Venezuelan ghetto. He lived there with his mother; father had died in the war. The boy's Innocence had taken the form of a soccer ball, very similar to the late Daisya Barry's Charity Bell.

Sooner than expected, they arrived at the ghetto. Thunder boomed above them, visibly rattling the few window panes that remained in the dilapidated buildings. Lavi counted only two out of the five buildings to be fully intact; the others had floors, entire walls, and even entire sections missing, all the rubble gathering around them. The heavy rain didn't help clean the area, but instead made the mire of muck and human waste mix together into a disgusting slew that squished under their boots. Lavi was eternally grateful that their uniforms were made of such good quality. He would thank Johnny when they got back home.

"This weather's shit. Let's hurry the fuck up so we can leave."

The younger two of the group agreed to Kanda's statement.

Even though the rain beat down around them and thunder constantly rumbled above head, Lavi was suspicious as to why he heard no human activity. There were no dogs barking, no children crying, and no people scavenging through debris. In addition, they didn't even see anyone either. Not one soul.

Lenalee's lips pulled down in a frown. "I thought there were a few families living here. I don't see anyone."

From the corner of his eye, Lavi saw Allen squint his eyes in the direction of the right side of the smallest building. "I think...I think I see someone there, sitting under that sandbox tree." Indeed, Lavi did see a lump akin to a human form huddled under the tree's cover from the rain. The person wasn't moving; however, it was expected in this kind of weather.

"I'll go check it out," Lavi said. "You guys go look around." Without waiting for anyone's reply, Lavi trudged forward, ignoring the pungent smell that seemed to grow stronger and stronger with every step. The source of the disgusting smell was finally clear when Lavi got to the tree, and he could not stop himself from reeling back, hunching behind a large boulder to retch. _Dammit all to hell._ He had found the little accommodator they were looking for. Well, accommodator no more. The body, and Lavi was being generous in that description, was sliced in two, revealing snapped bones and rotting internal organs. There was dark blood splashed all over the tree's pointy bark and the rubble of the surrounding area. The face was no longer recognizable, but Lavi could still see traces of curly brown hair. Shakily standing himself upright, he scanned the immediate area, taking note of the large and small craters that peppered the buildings and ground-Akuma bullets-and the gray ash that swirled and mixed in the rain with the mire underfoot. There was no sign of the soccer ball Innocence anywhere.

The ghetto had been completely wiped out, and not one person had stood a chance. Not even this nine year old boy with the Innocence.

The red-haired man heard voices approaching behind him, but paid them not mind.

The longer he looked at the decaying corpse, the more he felt disgust for the War and for humanity in general. Humans and their greed, rage, and selfishness cause suffering and conflict. Conflict led to war fueled by flawed people, leaving destruction, hunger, disease, and death in their wake. This Bookman had seen many a corpse and mutilated body in his years, but that did not make seeing another one any easier. And if there was no Holy War-here he couldn't hold back the sneer that crossed his face thinking, _there are no wars that are_ _ **Holy**_ -this kid, who did not even live through an entire decade, would have survived.

"Lavi?" a female voice tried.

Humans were the root of all evil. Deak was right.

He heard a deep, male voice this time. "Usagi?"

A tenor similar to his own. "Lavi?"

Humans were-

-he clutched his head when he felt someone smack the back of it. He looked over his shoulder, not turning his body. "What?" he asked flatly, still blocking the mess in front of him.

The raven-haired samurai frowned at him, narrow eyes flicking from him to whatever was behind him. "We've been calling you for the past couple of minutes, Usagi. I thought rabbits were supposed to have excellent hearing or something."

"Are you alright, Lavi?" Allen asked, worry clear on his face as he took a step forward.

The Bookman's blank expression only changed slightly as a frown became prominent. "I hate humanity," he said with an incredible _blank_ tone, staring down at the mud. "Humans are such terrible creatures."

"L-Lavi?" Lenalee put a hand on his cheek, and lifted his head in order to make contact with those beautiful violet eyes. "Why...Are you slipping again?" He figured that she took his empty stare as an answer. She grasped him as a tight embrace as she held his head on her shoulder. "Please come back Lavi." For the past several years, 'Lavi' had the tendency to slip back into his original Bookman personality. Similar to Allen's struggle with his drive to keep walking, the red-haired man had trouble keeping faith in the lighter side of humanity. Their career didn't really help him with it either.

Why were his knees shaking? Why did he feel so tired? As if his body decided to take a vacation, his knees gave from under him, sending him kneeling in the disgusting muck below. Lenalee was still attached to his shoulders. The cold that raced through his veins and chilled his skin had nothing to do with the torrential rain the was pouring on them. The sky was dark with churning black clouds, but that wasn't the reason why the world felt so dark to him.

He felt two other presences around him, and he lifted up his head in order to see Allen kneeling next to Lenalee and Kanda kneel on one knee beside the Bookman. Allen took his the red-head's limp hand and Kanda leaned against his right left side. The downpour didn't prevent him from leeching the warmth from their bodies, thankfully-especially from Allen and Kanda, who's body temperatures were higher than average. They were warm and comforting, like candle flames illuminated the room of a late-night study session.

They didn't comment on the mess of a person behind him, or the fact that they were all kneeling in a slew of mud and human waste. They didn't say anything about his stuttered breaths as he tried to calm himself, or the fact that he barely had the energy to pick himself up. It took a while but Lavi finally dredged a bit of vigor to lift his arms to clutch at them. "...Thank you," he rasped.

When they got back to the Order, they quickly turned in their reports and practically heaved Lavi into Kanda's General-level quarters. After bathing, in the Japanese man's large bed, they wrapped themselves and Lavi and a cozy blanket as they held on to him. Four different kinds of steaming tea were not far out of reach on the bedside table. Lavi felt a little lighter than he had in Venezuela.

No matter if the rest of humanity dragged itself into the darkness of ruin, destroying themselves and others on the way down...he was confident in the fact that the three humans alongside him were different. These humans were above the rest, lighting the way when he could not find it himself.

He was so grateful to have them, minor flaws and all.

* * *

This was complete and utter bullshit.

It had to be.

This couldn't be happening again. Not again.

At the current moment, Kanda was in the Order's training room, hacking and slashing his anger and frustrations on the ninth practice dummy in a row. Another slash of Mugen decapitated the dummy. Make that ten. _I wish I could do that to that damn Leverrier bastard._ God, Kanda just wanted to scream. And kill something-or rather someone.

He, Allen, Lavi and Lenalee had been in the dining hall earlier, just having finished up a mission in France to get rid of some Akuma. They had been making mild conversation, mostly between Lenalee and Lavi, since Kanda didn't really feel like contributing and Allen had been stuffing his face with food. It had been relatively calm, until Leverrier had made his presence known in the front of the hall. Lavi had quickly escorted Lenalee somewhere else, which relieved Kanda because she didn't deserve to be around that bastard any longer than she had to. Allen had stayed, wary of the sudden appearance of the Inspector.

The sudden appearance of the Inspector had never meant anything good.

"I won't stay long as I have other things to take care of," he had said with that stupid 'polite' smile on his face. "I **only** need to speak with Yuu Kanda." The 'only' was directed with Allen who stubbornly as usual wanted to defy orders. Kanda had gave him a look, expressing that he would be fine. Other than the fact he wanted to kick the man for calling him by his given name.

After Allen had grudgingly left, Leverrier had walked closer to Kanda. "I have some buisness to discuss with you, Mr. Kanda. It'll only take a moment, rest assured." _Rest assured, my ass_ , he had thought.

"What is it?" He had grumbled out with crossed arms. He hated being around this man.

"I'm going to be frank and I'm not going to sugar coat things." The older man's smile had been as sharp as a blade and as vicious as a snake. "I am personally funding the revival of the Secord Exorcist project, and I already have three candidates in mind. I'm sure you know them. The Third Exorcist project had too many flaws, what with the Akuma influence, but you are a living example..."

Kanda vaguely remembered freezing in place, only hearing the first part of what the Inspector said. His shock had drowned out the last part. He remembered yelling something before storming out the dining hall and making his way here to the training room.

Another slash, another vivisected dummy. _Don't people ever fucking_ _ **learn**_ _?!_ The aim of his follow up jab had been off, which made Kanda realize that his hands were shaking. Leverrier had talked about three candidates he knew, and Kanda felt like throwing up. _Alma already suffered...I can't lose them either._ He lost himself of a whirlwind of swipes, jabs, and stabs, going faster and faster with each attack. Rage and fear powered his muscles, causing him to inadvertently activate Mugen, who was ringing with her own anger of the situation. _I'm not going to let anyone touch them. I'll fucking kill anyone if I have to because this_ _ **can'thappenagainnotagain-**_

-A touch to his shoulder caused him to whirl around and blindly strike out. Sparks flew when Mugen connected with metallic claws, and Kanda snarled. "Kanda?!"

He twisted around the person, going for a vulnerable back. _They sent people after me?! They're not dragging me back to that hell hole._ The long handle of an Innocence weapon blocked his strike to the first person's back. "Kanda, snap out of it!"

"It's us, Kanda!"

 _I have to get to Lenalee, Lavi, and Allen._ He summoned his Netherworld Insects and sent them flying at the attackers. _We gotta get out of here._ "Kanda!" He was going to kill these-

-Something barreled into his back and sent him careening to the hard ground. Impossibly heavy, armored boots pinned his legs and olive hair filled his vision. "Kanda, it's us! Please stop, it's us." Thin arms hugged his neck and shoulders, and the scent of lavender was very prominent. "Yuu..."

Kanda was breathing heavily and it took several moments to focus. _The hell...?_ "Lenalee...? What?"

Confident that Kanda was going to go ballistic again, Lenalee got off his back and sat next to him. Kanda propped himself up, sitting crossed legged. He saw Allen and Lavi sit next to her. Where did they come from? "What happened, Kanda?" Lavi asked. "We heard you yell in the dining hall."

"It was the Inspector, wasn't it?" Allen frowned, nudging his knee into Kanda's.

Kanda growled and gnashed his teeth together as he held his head in his hands. He must not have realized that his hair tie had broken earlier because his hair was curtaining his face. "People never fucking learn." His tone was vitriolic, deadly as a cobra.

Lenalee wrung her hands together. "I..I don't understand." She placed her hand on the knee that wasn't being bumped by Allen's. "Did... _he_ do something to you?"

" _Ugh_ no, not me dammit," he shook his head. He didn't want to explain this. "They're starting it all over again."

"They, who?"

"Starting what?"

More and more questions were aimed at the long-haired twenty-three year old before he could even finish answering even one. Frustration built in him like a lava in a volcano until he could no longer take it. "Leverrier is restarting the damn Second Exorcist project and _he's going to use you all as_ _ **experiments**_!" He pressed his face deeper into his palms to try and prevent the tears that were burning his eyes from escaping. (3)

The room was silent other than their shocked breathing and his heavy, unsteady breathing. _Fucking hate these stupid emotions_. A hand with purple painted nails grabbed his left while a black, segmented hand grabbed his right. He raised his head just enough to see Lavi had moved behind them and had his hands on the other two's shoulders. Kanda shook his head, "I can't...I just can't..."

Images of Alma and the labs flashed through his mind. Blood and screaming overlaid all the images, and his mind's eye conjured limbs everywhere. Healing was a bitch when he and Alma had to regenerate limbs. He sucked in a harsh breath, and he would deny it to his dying day that his voice wavered and cracked. "I already lost Alma...I can't lose you guys. ...Can't let that happen to you..." The tears that he had been desperately holding in fell, one by one, on the floor.

"Oh, Kanda," Allen's mercury eyes became wet as he let go of Kanda's hand and latched on to the older man. Two more sets of arms encircled them, and his body felt itself relaxing automatically. "We're not going to end up like Alma. We'll...we'll run away before that happens!"

Lavi kissed Kanda on the forehead and brushed the tears away. "Yeah, Yuu," Kanda couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed by the usage of his given name. Not by any of them. "No one is gonna separate us."

"And Komui would make sure this wouldn't happen. And even if it was, he would make sure we would have enough resources to escape somewhere!" Lenalee added.

He felt Allen nod against his collarbone. "Yeah! And I don't give a damn what Central says about me. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Ark." A beat passed. "And Neah said he would slaughter anyone who tried to get in our way."

With every reassurance, Kanda felt the dark world become brighter and brighter. He held on to them tighter, willing every force in the universe to keep them safe.

He was even more relieved when they left the training room that Komui and the other branch heads had denied Leverrier's plan for the Second Exorcist project.

Later that night, Lavi, Lenalee, and Allen never let him go.

* * *

Lenalee's happiness and joy came from the people around her. To be more clear, her world was pieced together like a puzzle through said people. Even though she cared for many individuals in the Order, there were a handful hat she could not live without. Her brother first and foremost, and her three boyfriends immediately after.

Throughout her years as an exorcist, she has had many scares and close calls to losing the people she really cared about. Allen when he was on the run from Central's unjust claim of heresy, Lavi for the period of time when he was captured by the Noah, and Kanda during his absence after the Alma Karma incident. Even though those three had gone through so much and despite her own fretting, she had been confident that they would be okay. Each man was strong and powerful and could take care of himself. So, even though she was worried, she was not _worried_ , if that made any sense.

Her brother, however, was another story. Komui was strong, but in a different way than her three exorcist boyfriends. He was strong-willed, clever, and admirable-and Lenalee was not boasting, only stating. But for all of his strengths and abilities, Komui was not physically...adept. He might have been tall, but that height did not match muscle. He was a scientist and researcher, his strength gearing towards knowledge and robots. And even though those robots and automatons were powerful in their own right, Lenalee was skeptical that they could protect her brother, and for good reason. She could destroy them quite easily.

She considered herself lucky that Komui had not been heavily injured, like the exorcists usually were, through his long tenure in the Order.

But luck always ran out, sooner or later.

This was why she was sitting in an uncomfortable, straight-backed chair in the infirmary next to a standard cot with her brother lying in it. It had only been a matter of time before their line of work caught up with them. The thing that bothered her the most was that he had gotten injured not through a raid of the Order, not a Noah attack, not a direct hit from the Earl, but from a stray Akuma bullet while _walking back from the market_. The freaking _market_. She had been with him, but failed to protect him. A stray bullet had caught him in the left arm.

She had never thought her brother possessing a weak stomach, and that belief was only confirmed when he had not hesitated to slice of his own arm before the black pentacles had encroached further than his elbow. He had passed out shortly after...

Lenalee clenched her hands in her lap. wringing the end of her frilly shirt. _It my fault._ She bit her lip. _I'm an exorcist. I have to protect people from this, and I failed. How can I call myself a proper exorcist when I couldn't even protect my own brother?!_ Her grip tightened, and her long nails punctured through the thin cloth.

The repetitive _beep-beep_ of the heart monitor was the only reassurance she had that her brother was alive and breathing. But a nasty voice in the back of her mind kept telling her that the beeping could stop any moment, and it would be all her fault. She placed one of her hands on top Komui's only remaining one, reigning in a flinch at the cold temperature of his skin. "I'm so sorry, big brother," she whispered. "Please...please don't leave..." She was desperate. She couldn't lose her brother, not again. Not like she had as a child.

She was even considering praying to the God she hated so very much, as distressed as she was.

"He'll be okay, Lena-lady," a familiar voice sounded from the room's door.

She snapped up her head, surprised that she had heard no one approaching before, seeing Lavi walking in. Allen and Kanda trailed behind him. They patted Komui's shoulder in respect before turning to her. "He's made of tough stuff. He'll be okay."

 _They don't know that! Komui's not like them!_ She shook her head as she ducked her chin, olive hair falling around her shoulders. While she normally had good control of her emotions, she could clearly feel the vice-like grip of panic squeezing her lungs and heart. "We don't know that for sure. For all we know, there could still be traces of the virus in his body just waiting to attack him internally." She would not cry.

Lenalee felt too tired and too jaded for being only twenty-one years old.

Allen pulled up another chair to sit next to her. He leaned over and embraced her, and she felt warm. The white-haired man was always warmer than others due to his parasitic Innocence. This gave her some brief comfort. She felt one arm drape on her shoulder and the other on Allen's. Lavi's usual scent of smoke and parchment mixed with Allen's sugar-he ate more sweets than she did. The weight atop her head signaled that Lavi was resting his chin. Kanda squeezed her land, running his calloused thumb along her knuckled before returning the door. He leaned against the door jam, and from his stance she could tell he was keeping watch for anyone that might disturb them-bar nurses.

The olive-haired exorcist nosed herself deeper into Allen's chest. She removed her hand from Komui's, and used both of her hands to clutch onto Lavi's jacketed arm. "He's not like us you know," her voice was practically a whisper, but carried enough for all of them to hear.

"We know," Kanda glanced at her before returning to 'keeping guard'.

She sniffed again. Lavi tightened his embrace, and Allen kissed her forehead. "He's not made for fighting."

"We know," Allen said simply.

The steady _beep-beep_ continued.

"He's not like us. He can't regenerate like you, Kanda, or see Akuma coming his way like you, Allen. He's knowledgeable, but not to a Bookman's standard like you are, Lavi. H-He doesn't have Innocence to p-protect him," her sniffles became very wet and her eyes stung," and he doesn't fight. E-e-even his s-silly Komlin robots aren't m-much good..." She was glad she had her face buried in Allen's chest because the her tears were flowing freely at this point. "...H-He can't die, guys. He can't." If Komui... _left_ , Lenalee was positive her world would fall apart and lose it's luminescence. Same with her precious boys.

But she couldn't think of that now lest she make herself even more upset.

She didn't see her boyfriends share a look, but she did feel Allen standing her up. Confused, she looked up to see him give her a gentle smile before pressing another kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back," he said before sprinting out the room. She had no idea why he left, but Lavi preoccupied her by wiping away her tears. "He only be gone for a few minutes, Lena-lady, don't worry."

Kanda snorted as he detached himself from the door jam and approached her. "Tch, if he doesn't get lost, that is." Despite her sniffles and tears, a smile quirked on her lips-even though it left as quickly as it came. _Those two will never change._ The raven-haired man hugged her before sweeping her off her feet, to her surprise. She let out a small shout at the quick change in position, nearly kicking Lavi in the face.

"Sorry, Lavi!" She met Kanda's eyes as he laid her on another cot across from Komui's. "Kanda, what was that for?"

"Hn." He moved another cot to join the one she was laying in before sitting next to her, hip to hip, and she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Like Allen, Kanda always felt like a furnace, which was due to his regenerative and healing abilities. "You need rest, and we weren't going to make you leave."

Lavi bounced on to the adjoining cot, smile wide on his face. "Yuu's-please don't kill me tonight, I'm sorry-right, Lenalee. Siblings gotta stick together, yanno? Komui will be really happy to see you when he wakes up." He grabbed her hand and gave it a brief squeeze after saying, "And he _will_ wake up." The vice gripping her chest loosened a little.

It was at that moment Allen came walking in the room, carrying an incredibly thick folded blanket from Kanda's bed. He climbed into the cot with Lavi before throwing the thick blanket over the four of them. "I came just in time," he said with a smile. "I can tell we're all getting p-pretty t-t-t _iiiiired_ ," a yawn punctuated the end of his sentence. Lenalee giggled as Kanda laid her down next to him.

With reassurance that her brother would be okay and her three boyfriends surrounding her, Lenalee felt the dark fog that had been clinging to her for the past few hours disappear. Allen toed her ankle, which made her giggle again, before poking Kanda's leg, prompting him to jerk back his leg in a swift kick towards Allen's shins. Lavi snickered.

A deep breath and Lenalee closed her eyes, snuggling closer to Kanda who drew her closer. Just as she was about to take another relaxing breath, she heard Lavi complain.

"Aww man, the light is too bright. I don't feel like getting _uuuup_."

"None of us want to get up either, Usagi. We're comfortable."

"I'll take care of it." The familiar energy of Crown Clown resonated through the air. A faint _click_ and the room became much darker, which Lenalee could tell even from behind her closed eyelids.

The room may have been very dark now, but the people she was surrounded with made it that much brighter.

* * *

Published: 9/15/2015

A/N: Check out my Tumblr! It's ms-musicl0vertheexorcist

(1) I was drawing inspiration from the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime.

(2) The Federal War was a civil war between Venezuelan Federalists and Centralists. It began in 1859 and ended in 1863. More information: en . wikipedia wiki / Federal _ War

(3) If you guys think that Kanda wouldn't have a reaction similar to this if he found out his friends/significant others were going to be forced through the Second Exorcist project, then I don't know what. He already lost the person he had loved, Alma-twice, actually. And now he was certain that he was about to lose these three? I wouldn't fault him for nearly having a panic attack or something.


	2. Surprising Confessions and Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own D . Gray-Man

(Chapter) Rating: T+ -M

Words: 7,427

Chapter Summary: (Prompt for DGM OT4 Week 2015, Sept. 14: Confessions/Secrets); Even though they've been in a relationship with each other for four years, they were still discovering new things about the others each and every day.

Warning: language, innuendos, mentions of sex work.

* * *

Chapter: 2) Surprising Confessions and Secrets

It was rare that exorcists had a long span of free time between missions. A day or two perhaps; three at the longest. However, this two week period that made Kanda go crazy with boredom was not that common. Throughout the past two weeks, he had already trained (several times), worked on his little garden in the back of the Order, and caught up on some much needed sleep. But there was only so many activities that he could stretch over a two week time frame.

To say that he was bored to tears was a clear understatement.

Hell, even Komui was stir-crazy, and had taken to tinkering with his prosthetic arm project.

Thus, Kanda found himself sitting at the large wooden table in his General's quarters, staring at a small moleskin sketchbook and pencil. Under his time with Tiedoll, the creative old man had pushed his three apprentices to practice an artistic route. Daisya had taken up sculpting when he had free time—and had been fairly good at it, actually—while Marie had chosen music. Kanda hadn't known what to pick because, _What the hell was the purpose of this stuff, old man?_ Tiedoll had shown Kanda the art of drawing, with simply pencils; no pastels or inks like the older General was fond of. He had found the simplicity and repetitiveness of drawing appealing, a way of calming himself after stressful missions (besides meditating). What had been even more surprising to him—and his General—was that he was proficient in the skill. That had been when Tiedoll had purchased him the aforementioned sketchbook. However, even though he was good at drawing, he only did so when there was _nothing_ left to do.

He hadn't touched the thing in _years_.

 _I don't really have a freaking choice right now,_ he thought as he idly twirled the pen between his long fingers. _Not unless something suddenly attacks the Order._

He opened the sketchbook, taking a few minutes to flip through the pages of his older pictures. The last one of a tree-filled landscape dated was _June 6, 1856._ Eight years ago.

Deciding he wasted enough time in pointless reminiscing, he set the pencil to an empty page, loosely sketching fluid marks. Light strokes to build shape then hardened to darker lines as his mind unconsciously decided what the subject(s) of this picture would be. While drawing, his thoughts strayed to his two boyfriends and girlfriend. He hadn't seen them for several hours today, and was curious what they were up to. _Usagi is probably in the science department, pestering the egg-heads. I bet he's giving input into that weird robot arm of Komui's._ Without realizing it, Kanda began to shade in an eye patch and curve the line of a mischievous smirk. _Moyashi gets bored with the sciencey stuff when exposed for too long. He's either with Lenalee, talking to Neah, or stuffing his face._ Feather light lines, lighter than the darker ones marked for skin, indicated white hair and lashes. _Probably stuffing his face. And if Lenalee isn't with the shortie,_ his hand automatically went through the memorized motions of coloring dark eyes, _than she's with Sister Complex._ The _scritch-scratch_ sound of pencil on paper continued.

Just as it did years ago, the repetition of the activity focused yet calmed Kanda all at once. The notion of time was lost on him, because _I don't even remember how long I've been sitting here_. Oh well, nobody would miss him for a while.

He found the pencil fly out of his hand when his body was jarred by a hug attack from behind. "What in the seven hells—?!"

"Yuu~! We missed you!" Kanda couldn't mistake that voice even if he tried.

"Hey, Kanda." Neither could he for those two voices.

Kanda caught the pencil before it rolled off the table and fell to the floor. "Get the hell of me, Lavi. Don't you have better things to do?"

Lavi kissed his scowling lips before detaching himself and sitting in one of the three other free chairs at the table. He snorted, "You and I both know there's nothing to do right now, what with the _severe_ lack of missions. So! I grabbed Lena-lady and Al on the way so we could all be bored out of our minds together."

The raven-haired exorcist's eye roll was purely internal. _What a considerate man_. If he physically rolled his eyes _every_ time Lavi exasperated him, his eyes would have long since fallen out of his head already-then regenerate and go through the entire process again.

Allen plopped in the chair next to Lavi, across from Kanda, eating several helpings of Mitarashi dango. Of course. Kanda considered himself well behaved for holding in the comment of the younger male being a fat-ass. Lenalee sat in between Kanda and Allen, across from Lavi. "What makes this even more sad is that even _Neah_ is so terribly bored. He's never— _Bloody hell,_ Kanda! That's amazing!" He sounded like he had stars in his eyes.

A raised eyebrow. "What now, Moyashi?"

The youngest of the group smacked Lavi in the arm and poked Lenalee's shoulder to get their attention. Kanda followed the where his finger was pointing, and the samurai's eyes landed on his sketchbook. "That's so good! Neah says he's quite impressed as well. He hasn't seen an artist this talented in decades!" He felt a flush of satisfaction and pride at the older Walker's compliment. Not that he would ever let him know, though.

Lenalee practically swelled in excitement. "Goodness, Kanda, that's just so beautiful!" She leaned over toward him in order to get a better look at the picture. Kanda slid the book away from her and closer to him.

Lavi peered over his shoulder— _How the hell did he move so silently?!_ —-and grinned. "Holy moly, is that us?" Silence was his answer. "Damn, that _is_ us!" Kanda hadn't even realized that in his boredom combined with his mind's drifting attention, he had inadvertently drawn his boyfriends and girlfriend.

Moyashi practically doubled over at the waist to get a better look. Lenalee was putting all her weight against Kanda and he almost fell out of his chair. "Jesus Christ! Go away, you guys!"

"Kanda, can I have a copy of this?" Allen got starry-eyed (again).

"Oooh, yeah, Kanda," Lenalee grinned. "Please!"

Lavi wasn't helping either. "I demand a picture."

"Leave!"

The next day, the three exorcists found pictures of their significant others on their beds, all drawn and signed by Kanda. Allen had gotten a sketch of Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda; Lavi got one of Allen, Lenalee, and Kanda; and the picture on Lenalee's pillow was of Allen, Lavi, and Kanda.

Kanda assumed, from the tins of his favorite teas he found on his bed, meant that they really appreciated the pictures.

He was eager to open the pumpkin-flavored one.

* * *

Lavi had never been so thankful to be away from the Order.

The reprieve in boredom came in the form of a mission to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire the next day. He and the other three were relieved by the facts that Komui sent all four of them, despite it being a relatively simple mission, and that they were saved from dying due to nothing to occupy them.

It was about eight in the evening at the current moment, and they were relaxing in the lounge are of the inn where they were staying. Even though the country was on the visible decline, what with the Crimean War a few years ago, the inn was in fairly good shape. This one was very large and spacey with high ceilings and geometric patterns on the walls and ceilings in shades of blue. The lounge was in the middle if the inn, styled like an inner courtyard. Arched windows let in the moonlight that mixed with the glow of many candles flickering on metal stands. About twenty other guests were lounging on the plush red couches that were arranged in a circle around the round stage in the middle. Five staff members were walking around with drinks and food, and Lavi flagged one of them down.

(1) " _Teşekkür ederim_ ," he smiled as the woman put down the four drinks and food and then distributed them. The woman giggled as she walked away to help the other guests. A hand smacked his shoulder, and the yelp he let out was more out of surprise than pain. He turned to the others to see Lenalee frowning at him with hands on her hips, Allen raising an eyebrow, and Kanda rolling his eyes. "What?"

Lenalee's frown had a hint of a pout in it. "Are you flirting with the staff, Lavi?" Her tone indicated a threat.

He placed an offended had over his heart. "Why, Lenalee, I am _insulted_. _Me?_ Flirt with _other_ people that aren't _you_ guys?' He punctuated his sentence with a dramatic gasp. "I _never_!"

Allen's unimpressed snort made Lavi grin. "Theatrical as always," he said as he sipped his wine.

The red-haired man quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking before kissing his white-haired boyfriend on the lips. Allen's light blush, plus the transferred taste of wine on his lips, made it even better. "You know me so well, Al."

Music filled the perfumed air as the the time of the performance drew closer and closer. Mild conversation was made between the exorcists, mainly about the mission and then about Komui's prosthetic arm project of all things. Lenalee joked that if the project was successful and the arm was operational, it was only a matter of time before her brother made himself into a _complete_ robot. The funny thing was that Lavi had no doubt that Komui would do just that if he had the ability to do so. Pressure on his bladder made him withdraw from the conversation and stand.

"Sorry, guys," he grinned as he set his glass on the table in front of them. "Gotta go find the little exorcist's room. Be right back."

"Just hurry up and go, Usagi." Kanda flicked an olive at Lavi, who smugly caught it.

He ducked another piece of flicked food, this time a grape by Allen, as he walked out of the lounfe and towards the restroom attached to the hall. He did his business, washed his hands, and left the restroom, walking back towards the lounge. The sound of applause was cut short—as was the music—when he heard the announcer's voice apologize to the crowd due to a few difficulties. When he got to the end of the hall, Lavi saw two of the _zenne_ (2) dancers arguing and whispering anxiously to one another. The red-haired exorcist couldn't help but give in to the curiosity that rose within him. " _Merhaba_ , my fine gentleman. Everything okay?" (3)

The shorter dancer, a slim young man who looked about eighteen years old with wavy brunette hair, sighted and wrung his hands. " _Merhaba_ , patron. We're just having some, _ah_ , trouble tonight. One of the other _zenne_ fell ill just moments ago, leaving us short a dancer." His honey eyes jumped to his taller and more muscled, though still lean, companion who had his arms crossed.

This older man, with straight, short black hair and goatee, sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Brown eyes slipped closed in frustration, "Derya ate some bad goat earlier and is now suffering from it." He opened his eyes and looked at Lavi again. "It's possible that we could still do the performance, but no self-respecting _zenne_ puts on a half-assed show."

The younger male gasped, then chided, "Kudret, language!"

Kudret rolled his eyes. "At a time like this, Cemil, I think I can—"

"—What if I said _I_ was pretty good at belly dancing?" Lavi interrupted.

Kudret blinked in surprise, but Cemil was quick to jump on the opportunity. "Perfect! Come with us, please!" For such a thin boy he had a fairly strong grip on Lavi's arm as he dragged the exorcist into what appeared to be a changing room. He grabbed a bundle of cloth and shoved it into Lavi's arms. "Here!" Kudret went over the routine as Lavi changed. "I take it you know the basics, so I won't bother with that stuff. As soon as we get on stage, we're going to..."

Before he knew it, he was back in the hallway trailing behind Cemil and Kudret. Kudret explained the situation to the announcer had been pacing a hole into the floor. The announcer practically glowed at the news then ran out on stage. "Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentleman! We have gotten everything worked out. Please welcome Kudret, Cemil, and our newest addition— _uh_ —Arslan!" As the applause greeted the three of the, Lavi couldn't help but snort in amusement at his sudden stage name. _Turkish for 'lion', huh? Well, at least it means the same as 'Lavi', haha._ He got in position, but only began to dance when Cemil clicked his _zils_. (4)

The music began once again.

He heard Lenalee's gasp over the music, which made him throw a smirk in the direction of his girlfriend and boyfriends. All of their jaws had dropped—which amused Lavi to no extent—and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates. The hand covering Lenalee's mouth did not hide her surprise in any way.

"What on Earth..." she breathed.

"The hell—?" he heard Kanda say.

"Oh my God, it's Lavi," he hear Allen gasp as well.

 _Time to put on a show_ _ **especially**_ _for them_ , he thought as he locked gazes with each of them. The multitudes of gold bangles that spanned his wrists to his elbows jangled as he raised his hands above his head and switched his hips. He swayed, the scarlet cloth that acted as a belt for his billowy white pants following his movement. The coined-belt also attached to his waist glittered in the low light as he sashayed closer to the edge of the stage, moving like an ethereal spirit. He clicked his own _zils_ as he spread out his tan arms, the wavy movement of them matching the undulation of his abdomen. A twirl signaled the next phase of the routine, followed by a vertical hip rock.

Without fail, the wide violet, cobalt, and mercury eyes of Lenalee, Kanda, and Allen watched and traced his _Every. Single. Movement._

The drummer in the corner of the lounge sped up the beats, which made Lavi speed up the percussive and rapid movements of his shoulder and hips. Cemil and Kudret danced on either side of him, but Lavi barely paid them any attention. The fluid movement of his arms caused the shimmery, snug-fitting black half-jacket that was practically adhered to his body catch the light and make the skin of his bare, muscled chest glow. One more beat and Lavi ended the routine with a sultry head toss and a heavy half-lidded eye lined with kohl toward his significant others.

Lenalee's shiver, Kanda's gulp, and Allen's dropped fig meant much more to Lavi than the roar of the crowd. He bowed, allowing a satisfied and smug smile to grace his face. _I stole the show and surprised the others. What a pleasant way to spend the evening_. Lavi knew, though, that he was most likely going to have to explain himself when he left the stage and change...

...Which was exactly what happened. Allen practically tackled Lavi, who had changed back to his exorcist uniform, to the ground in his enthusiasm. "Lavi, when in God's name did you learn to _belly dance_ of all things?!" The taller male wrapped his arms around the other and kissed his scarred forehead, other guests be damned. Even if they saw and told the management, the exorcists would be leaving the next day anyway. "Don't distract me with affection, Lavi. You are going to answer this question one way or another."

Before Lavi knew what happened, Allen's weight was gone and he was hefted up by his collar by Kanda. The scowling man (from experience, Lavi knew this scowl was actually more of concentration rather than irritation) looked at him dead in the eye and ground out, "You. Explain. _Now_." Lavi did have to take note of the huskier-than-normal tone of the other's voice. _Oh dear, Yuu's only speaking in one word sentences. I better not draw this out for much longer._

They started making their way back to their room before anyone could pull Lavi aside. As they were walking, Lenalee put a hand on Lavi's cheek and pecked his kohl-lined eye. "I loved every minute of it, _Arslan_ ," she giggled, and Lavi couldn't help the faint blush that dusted his cheeks. "And kohl suits you, really brings out your eye color."

"I think you should wear it more often," Allen tone was nothing but inviting and flirtatious.

Kanda clenched his teeth. " _Tch_ , obviously the Usagi looks good in kohl." He crossed his arms. "Just tell us when and how you learned the dancing, Eye Patch."

Lavi waited until they were back in their room, which took less than a minute, and had locked the door before explaining. "Well, it was a couple of years ago, before I joined the Order." He flopped on the bed—so comfy—and felt the others' weight make the mattress dip. "When I was thirteen, Bookman and I had travelled here to record the Crimean War when it first broke out in 1853. (5) Becoming a soldier was too risky and didn't have the best angle to glean information; too direct. I decided to become a _zenne_ in order to entertain the Sultan and other high-end officials and generals who came to the Court. You'd be surprised how easily old men talk when given food, drinks, and...entertainment."

Suddenly the red-head felt hands running all over his body—shoulders, hands, jaw—and his breath being stolen in a searing kiss. The lips detached themselves, and Lavi panted, head swimming, "W-What the—?"

The smell of lavender, then Lenalee's soprano sounded in his ear. "You're _ours_ , Lavi. No one else's." It was rare that the twenty-one year old woman got so possessive.

"No one else's," repeated Allen, who made his eyes shine gold to add warning to the statement. The white-haired man sometimes used his Noah abilities for stuff like that.

Long, calloused fingers ran through his hair. "You heard them, Usagi." A pair of warm lips attached themselves to the pulse point on Lavi's neck—the one he _knew_ made him weak—and he felt his control wane. He felt Kanda smirk against his throat.

" _Holy shit, you guys are goingto_ _ **killme**_ ," he breathed shakily. Jackets and shoes were removed, and Lavi grinned despite himself because _I can tell a good make out session about to start when I see one._ (About ninety-five percent of the time, they never went farther than that because it made Kanda and Allen uncomfortable; they were frigid towards _that_ aspect of the relationship, but Lavi and Lenalee made sure to let them know that it was okay, that they didn't have to do _that_ kind of stuff. Lavi and Lenalee were perfectly capable of taking care of, _ahem_ , those kinds of needs.) (6)

They didn't go farther than making out. Nonetheless, it was an _excellent_ night.

Lavi had promised them to dance for them for each of their birthdays from now on.

* * *

Two days after their mission to Constantinople, Lenalee found herself walking towards the mailroom on the basic level of the Order. It was the first Friday of the month, and she was expecting an envelope to arrive from _Macimillian and Co._ She put a little pep in her step, excited about what she could do with the extra money. _Maybe some more hair products_ , she thought as she fingered a few of her split ends. _These missions don't really help the state of a girl's hair_.

She expected to see only Marty and Clyde, the two men who worked in the mailroom, when she turned the corner but was instead greeted with the sight of her three boyfriends. Kanda glanced up from a letter he was reading and nodded to her before returning to it. His movement drew the attention of the other two who smiled at her as she walked in. "Hey, Lena-lady," Lavi beamed.

She forced her lips to smile back, and mentally cursed her luck.

On any other occassion, she would be overjoyed to see Kanda, Allen, and Lavi. Though, this was not one of those times. She didn't want them to find out about her tie to _Macimillian & Co._ The guys rarely ever went in the mailroom, so why on Earth were they here now? She had never encountered them before on her previous excursion here, so what in God's name was the chance of running into, not one, but _all three_ of them here all at the same time?

Lenalee trudged her way through the shoulder-high piles of mail that were stacked fairly close together until she found a sturdy crate to sit on. "I haven't seen Marty or Clyde. Do you guys know where they are?" If they were in the back room, maybe she could hurry and grab her envelope from them and hide it in her coat.

Allen gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Lenalee. We saw them for one moment then lost them in, well," he gestured to the unusually messy state of the mail room, "in all of this." He returned to unwrapping the parcel in his lap.

Even though she was a little discouraged at his answer, she couldn't help but give in to the strong curiosity that was nagging her every thought. "Since when do you three visit the mailroom? I've never seen you in here."

"Well in my case, Bookman sent me a letter to do some stuff for him while I'm still here at the Order." Lavi waved a piece of parchment in his hand. "He's on a long mission and won't be back for a while, so I have to finish a project of his."

Her white-haired boyfriend laughed as he finished unwrapping his parcel, holding it up to her. It was a glass bottle filled with some kind of oily-looking liquid that the Chinese exorcist had never seen before. "Neah has been ranting at me for the past three weeks about how I'm not taking—and I quote—'exceptionally good care of our violin, foolish nephew.'" About two years ago, Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda had saved up some of their extra money to buy Allen a violin he had been drooling over in a store window. He had told them that Neah's pension for music transferred over to him and that he found playing instruments so much fun. "So I bought some polish to calm his cranky self." He paused for ten seconds. "He denies being cranky-yes, you are, Uncle—but I still say otherwise."

Kanda let out an incredulous snort while Lenalee giggled. Lavi rolled his eye. They all knew how _, ahem_ , high-strung the older Walker could be at times.

Lenalee turned to Kanda who had not added to the conversation. "What about you, Kanda? What did you get today?"

" _Che_ , just a letter from the Old Man." She knew of only one person that she called 'Old Man.' Allen's nickname from Kanda of 'Old Man Hair' was different. "He has this weird habit of sending dumb letters when he's on long missions, usually about how great the scenery around him is to draw." He scoffed as he gestured to the letter in his hand, "Like I wanna know about how the 'rolling hills of the plains are so full of energy and that they are great to sketch." She noticed that didn't stop him from continuing to read the rest of the letter, though. Despite the fact that he pretended not to care about Tiedoll, it was the little things like reading the older General's letters that made her know that Kanda _did_ care, at least to some extent.

Just as the olive-haired female was about to jump off her crate and go looking for Marty and Clyde, said mailroom workers burst from the backroom. Marty, the six foot dark-skinned man from Nigeria, was hefting a box of documents while Clyde, the shorter (about five feet ten inches) red-haired man from Scotland, was carrying a few packages and envelopes—a lighter load than Marty. The Irishman saw her, smiled, then exclaimed, "Lenalee, my dear lass! I got your usual invoice from _Macimillian and Co._!"

The room became silent other than Lavi's quick inhale. " _Macimillan and Co._? You mean _**the**_ _Macimillian and Co._?! The _greatest_ publishing company that has ever graced mankind yet? _**That**_ _Macimillian and Co._?!" (6)

Marty set down his box then gave Clyde an exasperated glare.

Clyde offered a nervous laugh to both him and Lenalee. "Uh...Whoops? Was I not supposed to let these lads know?"

Marty face-palmed. "You're getting senile, Clyde. She told us months ago _not_ to tell anyone, remember?"

A wince. "Sorry, lass."

Allen offered his input. I don't really know much about _Macimillian and Co._ , but, Lenalee, would you mind explaining so that Lavi can stop having a coronary over here? It would be greatly appreciated, love."

She sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of it. "Alright, alright. Do any of you know the book _Clara Vaughan_?" Twitchy fingers ghosted over the frilly bottom of her shirt.

A collective 'no' came from both Allen and Kanda, but Lavi perked up from his own crate, eye beaming and smile wide. "Hell yeah! I love that book! I got it when it was first published." His smile turned into a grin, "I would _love_ for the author to publish another story."

Lenalee gave an uncharacteristically shy grin, raising her hand and wriggling her fingers to her boyfriend. "Well...uh, the author says 'Hi'." Worry raced through all her nerves when Lavi stared at her, not moving. _Oh dear, I hope he's alright._

Even after a full minute, the Bookman still didn't move.

Kanda gave a hard poke to Lavi's cheek, raising an eyebrow when the other male bobbed to the side like a buoy in the water, eventually righting himself. He still said nothing.

Allen hummed. "Lenalee, love, I hate to tell you this, but I think your broke our boyfriend." He leaned over, using his incredible balance not to fall of his crate, and pecked her on the lips. "But great job publishing a book."

The inflection of Kanda's "hn" meant that he approved as well.

"I get some money from my publisher, _Macimillian and Co._ , every month. It got published only a few months ago, but...I don't know. It's just nice to have a little extra money to get things I need, I guess." She shrugged, "I had to publish under the pseudonym R.D. Blackmore because it sounded male. Who would give a woman the same pension as a man?" Exorcists, and others in the Order, were quite fortunate that they resided where they did. Gender equality was fairly constant; there wasn't time to dwell on gender 'roles' when fighting Akuma as an exorcist, helping exorcists as a finder, conducting experiments as a scientist, or even helping to maintain the Order as a cook, cleaner, etc. Staying alive was the primary goal with the job they had. Lenalee supposed she was luckier than the average woman of society.

It was not as if she could tell her publisher that she was a powerful exorcist fighting in a secret 'Holy' War that was millenia old in order to get some more money. "I—"

"—Lenalee!" Lavi bolted foward and latched onto her, squeezing her in a tight hug.

She thought she heard her ribs creak in protest. "Lavi, I can''t _breathe_ ," she struggled to say.

He peppered her face with kisses, making her let out an odd mixture of wheezes, gasps, and giggles. "You're such a good writer~!" His embrace got even tighter, if that was even possible.

"Blimey, she's turning blue, Lavi!"

"Usagi, let her go so she can breathe, for fuck's sake!"

Later than afternoon, she ended up reading her book to her boys after she had recovered from Lavi's death-grip hug.

* * *

 _Three-hundred eighty nine, three-hundred ninety._ Sweat beaded and dripped off Allen's forehead and bare chest as he went through his morning exercise routine. The training room was empty now at eight o' clock, what with Lenalee and Lavi asleep and Kanda having already completed his own morning katas. _But I still don't understand him. What sane person gets up at four thirty in the morning to exercise. The sun's not even out at that time, for God's sake!_

 _Three-hundred ninety-three._

He let out a controlled exhale, trying to keep his breathing stable so that he could keep his form steady. _Three-hundred ninety four_. These morning exercises always gave Allen the chance to run over anything that drifted though his mind. Stray thoughts, worries, and ideas for the day always came to him. It allowed him some alone time away from other people, giving him a chance to mellow and breath, so to speak. Well, mostly alone—he had one permanent resident with him in his head that wouldn't go away; one that supplied near constant commentaty every day.

 _ **Love you too, nephew**_ , Neah smirk was practically audible.

 _Oh, you know you do, Neah. You love to add your two cents._ Another breath, _three-hundred ninety-six_.

Even though exercising in the morning gave him time for himself and a little time away from his partners, he still loved them. Allen assumed that it was that way for everyone in a relationship; partners needed a little time away from each other and time for themselves. Alone time was a privelge that Allen coveted like it was a rare metal. Being observed by Link all those years ago made him realize how precious having time to himself was. Having someone always observing you and watching your every move was unnverving, and Allen had hated it—especially for the reason behind the observations: to figure out if he was a traitor or not.

Depsite hating that (and hating a few of the Order's faults), he supposed there were so many things that were worse.

Allen hated a of things that happened during his childhood, and for good reason. The circus had been an...experience to say the least. His time there as Red had been just terrible, especially under the watch of that cad Cosimo. But, he was greatful that the circus gave him a chance to meet Mana. He would _never_ regret meeting Mana, even though the gentleman had possessed a dark sense of humor. It had statled him as a child, but he now felt that Mana's unique humor would be a lovely reprieve to his stressful days here at the Order.

 _Three-hundred ninety-nine_.

As he dipped down on his single-handed standing pushup, he heard Neah snort in his head. _**Mana had always possessed that dark and different sense of humor of his, ever since he were children. It creeped a lot of people out, but that's what made it hilarious.**_ Feeling like four-hundred pushups was enough for a morning's warmup, Allen flipped out of his pushup handstand and rolled into a sitting position.

Hearing Neah's sniggers made the twenty year-old smile. Even though they had been sharing headspace (and occassionally a body) for the past four years, Allen still loved to talk to Neah. The only thing that he disliked about their situation was that, in the company of others, they had to talk via their mind link. The finders, scientists, and few other exorcists that he did not talk to as often and who did not really understand his situation found it weird to see him talking to "himself" (when in reality he was talking to Neah). Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda understood, but Allen was still a little uncomfortable talking aloud to Neah. Questioning his sanity was not something he wanted those three to do. A silly thing, he supposed, to be embarrased about in front of his partners, but it was hard to change how he felt.

He layed on his back and let out a sigh, trying not to focus on his stomach for a bit. He loved food, he really did, but sometimes being a parasytic-type Innocence user was exhausting. Eating all the time was tiring, no matter how delicious Jerry's food was.

Anyways, he turned his head to face the long and wide wall mirror that stretched the entire spanse of one of the walls of the training room. The mirror often helped those that needed to correct themselves while training, be it kata positions, poses for stretches, or sword stances. Allen liked to use it to talk to Neah. It was one thing to talk to his uncle in his head, only hearing his voice, but it was another thing to actually _see_ him and his expressions and mannerisms. It made conversation much easier and interesting.

(Talking though the mirror had been a step foward in their relationship, much different than when Allen had avoided all mirrors four years ago...back when he hadn't really understood who Neah actually was.)

"Do you remember my time in Miss Tifa's Lounge, Neah?" he asked aloud. Through the reflective glass, he saw the older man sit on the floor cross-legged by Allen head and brush a hand through his white hair. It confused the exorcist a little as to how Neah could physically interact with him but not others, however he was not complaining.

 _ **From the memories that you've showed me, yes. Why?**_

Allen started counting the loose threads in Neah's coat; he totaled two so far. The older man's pride (and vanity) were as big as all of Europe, and he dressed accordingly, keeping his appearance tidy. "Just curious. I went from thinking about Mana to thinking about the rest of my childhood. Miss Tifa's Lounge eventually came to mind. I actually kind of miss it."

Neah looked incredulous, which made Allen snort in amusement. _**You actually MISS being a pseudo-escort and pseudo-performer for a bunch of much older people?! Allen, if you had been older, they would have made you an ACTUAL rent boy.**_ (8)

"You're overreacting, Neah. I was never a rent boy. Miss Tifa took care of all the other kids who were under eighteen. All I did was strip to my undewear and dance. Plus, the costumes were always fun." He was fifteen when he joined the Lounge. Miss Tifa had strict rules about her employees. Anyone under the age of seventeen could only strip to their underwear—no 'naughty bits', as Miss Tifa put it, allowed to be seen—and no one under the age of eighteen could be a sex worker. Even so, everything had to be consensual. If an employee refused to give a client sex, the employee would not be forced to. The client would just have to find somewhere else to go.

 _ **You worry me sometmes, Allen. You really do.**_

The British man sighed, fully used to Neah's overprotectiveness. "The only thing that was different about being a clown in the circus, and being an escort and dancer at the Lounge was that the Loung was slightly more 'adult themed'. I wore costumes and put on a show in both places. My costume at the Lounge just showed a little more skin is all."

The fingers brushing through his hair stopped, and through the mirror Allen saw Neah give him a dry and exasperated look. _**Allen, you were basiclly a prostitute**_ , his tone was flatter than a board.

He sniffed indignantly. "I was not a prostitute!"

"Allen, you were a _prostitute_?!" Lenalee's surprised exclamation that sounded from the entrance of the training room startled him and made him sit up ruler-straight from his position on the floor. _Dang it, I thought no one was going to come in for at least another hour!_ He mentally groaned. _This is why I don't like talking aloud whenever other people are around._

 _ **Out of all the people to be uncomfortable around, your partners should not be on that list. However, I do understand how you feel. It takes and will take a while for others to understand how we communicate, dear boy.**_

Lenalee and Lavi were looking at him with odd expressions on their faces, which in any other situation would have been hilarious combined with their barely managed bedheads. What made him even more surprised was seeing Kanda behind them since the samurai had finished his training session several hours earlier. "Uh, h-hey guys! What, _uh_ , what are you doing here?" He did his best to keep the note of nervousness out of his voice.

 _ **You're not doing very well with that.**_

 _Shut up, Neah._

"Kanda woke me and Lena-lady up in order to train. Said we were being lazy for sleeping in," the last part of Lavi sentence was accompanied by a glare in Kanda's direction. "Honestly, is one day to sleep in too much to ask for? Anyway, Al, what was that about you being a prostitute?" His tone took on a mischevious quality, which Allen knew meant no good could come from this upcoming conversation.

Lenlaee still looked frazzled from her earlier exclamation, even as she sat down next to Allen. Lavi grabbed a few large pillows from the corner that could be used as seats, and Kanda sat on his knees next to Lenalee. They all became more comfortable when they readjusted themselves after getting the cushions from Lavi. "For the love of all that's good, Lavi. I. Was. Not. A. Prostitute."

 _ **You basically were, though**_.

Allen whipped his head to face the mirror in order to to gripe at Neah who was grinning at him. "Dammit, Neah! I was _not_ a prostitute. You're not helping!" Normally he would not reply to his Uncle aloud like that when in the presence of others, but, _Blimey_ , was his patience running short.

"It's times like this I wish I could hear your uncle, Moyashi," Kanda smirked at him. "I would love to hear his smart remarks to you."

Lavi, of course, had to insert his opinion as well. "Who knows, maybe he could take over our jobs in getting you riled up."

Allen flipped them both the bird. "You all are terrible, all of you. And to move this conversation about me being a prostitute, I was _not_. I would not dare drop myself to that level; that would make me a terrible man-whore like Master was, _ugh_. I worked in this place called Miss Tifa's Lounge in order to pay off some of Cross's terrible debts." _I will not become depressed at the debt, I will not become drepressed at the debt._ "I was an escort, just minus the sexual parts that came with being such, and a strip dancer. All undewear and whatnot was kept on all the time. And I don't even think I could actually _do_ the sex parts of those jobs; I'm frigid, remember?"

Lenalee cleared her throat, and Allen felt a little bad for putting her in such an uncomfortable conversation. "So, _ahem_ , you didn't...you know? With the clients of the Miss Tifa's Lounge?"

"Oh, God no. Even if I wasn't frigid, Miss Tifa had rules that protected everyone, especially the workers under the age of eighteen. To keep it short, the basic law of the Lounge was that no one under the age of seventeen could be completely nude when performing—had it keep it decent, no one under the age of eighteen could give sex work, and all workers could deny a client for any reason. The youngest a person could be employed was fifteen, and I was the youngest."

Kanda just near growled, which made the others look at him "There were other people _touching_ you?"

Possessiveness seemed like a running quality with his partners, Allen surmised. "I had a look-don't-touch policy, don't worry," he reassured. "The worst thing I had to do was get down to my briefs, love. And even that wasn't bad—just about the same as strip poker, haha."

Kanda didn't look any happier, but it did appear that some of the tension in his shoulders dissappeared, however.

"But wait," Lenalee interjected, a worried look passing over her face, "if you had to do... _that_ kind of show, what did the people think of your arm?"

Allen let out a chuckle, thinking back to Miss Tifa and the other workers in the Lounge. "Surprisingly, the other workers there didn't care. I was shocked by their nonchalance at first, but thinking back on it, I suppose there were less things to worry about. Some of the others were missing limbs and whatnot, so an arm like mine wasn't that big of a deal." He shrugged. "The costume I wore covered my Innocence arm and left my other arm free. I actually rather liked that jacket..." The British man was touched by the concern laced with protectiveness in Lenalee's voice. Now that he was older, his arm didn't bother him so much as it did when he was in his teens and younger years. That did not stop his partners from being defensive of him when they thought other people were mistreating him over his arm. Mana used to do the same thing all those long years ago.

"Good," Lavi nodded in satisfation. "If not, I'd probably have to go smack somebody with Ozuchi Kozuchi.

Allen rolled his eyes fondly. "Lavi, you didn't even know me then."

"That's besides the point."

"Usagi's right, Moyashi. I probably would have gutted someone if they messed with you about your arm."

"A swift kick to the back of the neck can also paralyze people," came Lenalee's cheerful add on.

 _ **Allen, you partners are one of a kind,**_ Neah sounded overly delighted. _**Threatening to maim and or kill people for you?! That's the best kind of people you can get. I don't care if four years have already passed, tell them I approve.**_

 _Why are all the people close to me so weird? Then again, I don't think I would want it any other way._ "Well, while your violent though not needed reassurances are greatly appreciated, Neah says that he approves of you all because of them." Allen gave a dry cheer, "Hooray."

With the point clear that he was not a sex woker, Allen felt comfortable enough to rest on his back again. He scooted closer to Kanda, moved the fists that were resting over the older man's knees, and placed his head on the other's lap. He ignored the semi-annoyed ' _Che'_ that came from Kanda's mouth and smiled when the other draped his longer arms over his bare chest, drawing him closer. Like Allen, Kanda had a much higher body temperature than the average person, and Allen made sure he took advantage of that with every opportinity he could. While he liked giving Lenalee and Lavi warmth and comfort, he also liked recieving such things, which made Kanda the perfect person to go to—minus his prickly personality. He closed his mercury eyes and sunk deeper in Kanda's lap.

Even though he had his eyes closed, he still sensed when Lenalee and Lavi leaned closer to Kanda to tell him something. They whispered in Kanda's ears, but were too discrete for Allen to discern what they were saying. Plus, he was too comfortable to take any effort to ask them. He heard them shuffle away and begin to train.

A few minutes passed and that was when he felt Kanda's long hair brush against his face as the other pressed a kiss to his forehead. He giggled when Kanda's hair ticked his nose and eyelids, but let out a shaky breath when Kanda whispered in his ear, "We made a decision. You're going to have to preform for us like Lavi did. No getting out of it." Allen's eyes opened. He shivered when he met Kanda's heated cobalt.

"I, _uh_ , r-really?" he stuttered.

"It's been decided. Lavi's _especially_ excited."

 _Oh boy_ , he couldn't hide the blush that colored his cheeks.

 _ **And I can guarantee that I will lock myself in our shared mindscap tonight. Very, very deep inside. Far away from the forefront. Have fun later, nephew.**_

 _Neah, I swear to God—!_

 _ **What God?**_

* * *

Published: 10/14/15

A/N: Even thought the actual week that this challenge was under has passed, I really wanted to continue with this fic. So, here's chapter two. And thank you to **Shadow Spears** and **kittyluv2000** for reviewing Chapter 1!

(1) "Thank you" in Turkish.

(2) Turkish male belly dancers. ( www. smithsonianmag arts-culture/inside-world-istanbuls-male-belly-dancers-180953539/?no-ist )

(3) "Hello" in Turkish.

(4) Finger cymbals.

(5) Crimean War: 1853-1856.

(6) I headcanon that both Allen and Kanda are asexual. Asexuality has been around for such a long time, however has not been really understood until the last few years. Being asexual in the nineteenth century meant that people thought a person was frigid and cold. I don't even believe the world "asexual" was even around back then.

(7) I have no idea if this publisher is a big deal. It just gave men an excuse for Lavi to nerd out like the dork he is.

(8) A rent boy is another term for a male prostitute. Don't worry, Allen never actually did sex work since he was still underage at the time. No mistreatment of children here. Also, an escort means something similar. Again, Allen never did any actual sex work. This pic: ms-musicl0vertheexorcist . tumblr post/131002105444/dgm-allensexual-ever-since-this-omake-those , prompted me to write Allen the way I did in this fic.


End file.
